I love the idea, despite it being one less home fame we can probably attend...

It wouldn't be too much more than a travel to Perth in regards to travel time, would it? Could be a terrific move for the club

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Would take less time to fly from Melbourne to Wellington than from Melbourne to Perth, although customs might take longer with it being an international flight.

Not totally against the idea but I'm not sure there is much of a market for AFL in NZ where the locals are mostly rugby mad. No doubt there will be ex-pat Aussies living there and some curious locals that will turn up to watch and you might be able to build more interest the more games you play there.

Would take less time to fly from Melbourne to Wellington than from Melbourne to Perth, although customs might take longer with it being an international flight.

Not totally against the idea but I'm not sure there is much of a market for AFL in NZ where the locals are mostly rugby mad. No doubt there will be ex-pat Aussies living there and some curious locals that will turn up to watch and you might be able to build more interest the more games you play there.

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Customs takes a couple of minutes generally over here btw, and its like a 3hour flight or so, so all up would take less time than Perth.

Interesting idea, the scheduling would obviously have to take the Super 15 and NPC provincial rugby and All Blacks into account. I also wonder how beat up the ground would get from rugby in the winter. I don't know if anyone here has been to the stadium, but damn it can be a miserable place in the winter months, and given its NZ its fair to say winter lasts a bit longer here

Welly isn't known as the windy city for nothing, so at the very least goal kicking would be entertaining to watch. I've seen blokes kick off for rugby games with punts that have travelled all of 10 metres.

Obviously you guys would love to play Port or Freo over here, but you'd think the AFL would look at a Vic or East Coast team, maybe GWS (?) to cut down the travel (given there are no direct flights from Adelaide)

I'd be there with bells on, but given that you have the union, and they have been struggling with crowds I don't see how it will be successful.

Not totally against the idea but I'm not sure there is much of a market for AFL in NZ where the locals are mostly rugby mad. No doubt there will be ex-pat Aussies living there and some curious locals that will turn up to watch and you might be able to build more interest the more games you play there.

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Never been to NZ myself but apparently there is some interest in AFL there. Yes rugby dominates but I have heard tall and lanky Anglo Saxons who are sports made would take a liking to our game because they don't have the right bodies to compete with the Islanders in rugby.

The other thing WE MUST DEMAND out of this would be priority acces to New Zealand youngsters, talent. Not only would this encourage us to really make a go of New Zealand, bit it would encourage other clubs to make similar deals for other overseas countries - Ireland, USA, England, PNG, Denmark??

Sounds outlandish, but you never know where ventures like this will lead.........

Seems to be driven by Pelchen, he must of been a fan of your Hawks Tasmania connection.

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AFL chief Andrew Demetriou confirmed that St Kilda had met the league's acting game development chief Andrew Dillon regarding the New Zealand push, which is understood to have been heavily driven by the Saints' new head of football, Chris Pelchen.

Demetriou said the subject had been briefly raised but not significantly explored at a recent meeting of AFL executives. The game's recently completed five-year strategic plan includes an international plat-form and the expressed desire to contest home-and-away games out-side Australia within that period.
Pelchen was accompanied by St Kilda executives Michael Nettlefold and Terry Dillon in a trip to New Zealand in January during the tour by the Australian rules AIS under-18 team. The key Saints off-field trio are believed to have held a series of meetings with Wellington-based stakeholders and toured the stadium

The other thing WE MUST DEMAND out of this would be priority acces to New Zealand youngsters, talent. Not only would this encourage us to really make a go of New Zealand, bit it would encourage other clubs to make similar deals for other overseas countries - Ireland, USA, England, PNG, Denmark??

Sounds outlandish, but you never know where ventures like this will lead.........

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Footy to progress in Wellington?

Tuesday, February 28 2012 @ 01:55 PM EST

Contributed by: Rod Shaw

AFL New Zealand is attempting to increase the number of teams in schools, at the same time as the leading Australian clubs are starting to look across the Tasman for new talent.

"The Australian clubs originally looked to Ireland – because of the similarity to gaelic football – for their international talent but finally are seeing see the merits of searching closer to home [in New Zealand]," AFL NZ national youth coach James Terry said.

According to Terry, four New Zealand boys were signed up for AFL scholarships last year and nine Australian clubs had observers at a training camp and game in Wellington last month. So far there has not been a Wellingtonian signed to an AFL scholarship and they have also not had much of a presence in the national sides recently.

Terry agrees to the widely held belief of those with experience of NZ football that "The games we play here – rugby, soccer, league and basketball – produce the type of athletic kids the AFL clubs are after and it can be a pathway to a very lucrative career."

Australian Rules is pitched as a summer game in New Zealand, so it is seen as an adjunct to rugby, soccer and league, rather than a competitor.

Five Wellington secondary schools fielded teams in AFL competitions last year and Terry hopes a bigger number will be involved in the senior Hawks Cup, a schools tournament that will be staged in Wellington in March, with a North Island schools tournament scheduled in late March.

The kiwis i know, particularly Maori's, either seem to love AFL or hate it and think it's a pussy sport. I definitely think there's a place for AFL in NZ though, and I'm glad it's us that's getting in on it, the potential rewards are massive, much better than India, Ballarat etc, but it won't be easy. The Phoenix and Black Caps and all their other teams don't seem to pull the same amount of numbers Rugby romps in. I guess maybe cause they're not actually that exciting and not particularly appealing to everyone either, especially with females and kids? Also the quality of the ALeague is shit, same with the NBL. At least with AFL you know you're watching the very best it has to offer. Definitely worth a shot.

He has his haters, but Im loving what Pelch is doing with his new found power. :thumbs:

And I could've made this up, but i swear i read a few years ago when he was coming through the NSW scholarship system that Fergo is kiwi.